Chalien Dantes/Contributed

Former Premier League defender Ronnie Stam has been sentenced to seven years in prison for his involvement in a major drug smuggling operation. 

Stam, now 41, played for Wigan Athletic from 2010 to 2013 and was part of FC Twente’s Eredivisie-winning squad under Steve McClaren. But nearly a decade after retiring from football, he has now been convicted for helping traffic hundreds of kilos of cocaine and other illegal substances into the Netherlands.

Dutch prosecutors described Stam as a big hitter in the criminal underworld, alleging he was part of a network attempting to smuggle £48 million worth of cocaine — more than 2,200 kilograms — into the country. While he was cleared of two of the most serious charges, he was found guilty of smuggling 724 kilograms of cocaine, along with MDMA and possession of 18 litres of nitrous oxide (laughing gas).

At the court in Breda, it was also claimed that Stam and his associates had attempted to smuggle 20kg of drugs from South America and laundered £2 million in criminal profits.

Stam admitted to his role in a plot to move 20 kilograms of cocaine from Brazil to Frankfurt, revealing that he expected to be paid the street value of one kilo for his part. He told the court he deeply regretted becoming involved with criminal groups.

Alongside his prison sentence, Stam has also been ordered to repay £1.7 million in illegal earnings.

After hanging up his boots in 2016 following a season with his boyhood club NAC Breda, Stam faded from the public eye until now. His career had once promised so much: 73 appearances for Wigan, a Dutch title with FC Twente, and spells in Belgium with Standard Liège.